A portion of the present invention was accepted under the Disclosure Document Program of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 16, 1981, under Identification No. 103547.
The present invention relates to paint stripers in general, and in particular to an improved spray gun and reflective bead dispenser assembly for use with paint stripers.
Paint stripers are employed for marking traffic lines on streets, roads, parking lots and other pavement surfaces. Conventionally, a paint striper comprises a wheeled cart having a push handle, on which is mounted a gasoline engine driven air compressor. A spray gun is carried to the side of the cart at the forward end thereof, and is connected with a supply of paint under pressure for airless spraying. A nozzle of the gun points downwardly for directing a spray of paint onto a pavement surface, and actuation of the gun may be controlled by a cable connected between a trigger on the gun and a control lever on the handle of the cart. In use, an operator pushes the cart, such that a guide at a forward end thereof follows the pavement where a stripe is to be painted, while selectively operating the control lever to actuate the gun and apply the stripe.
Although painted traffic lines show up well in daylight, they are often difficult to see at night, particularly when the pavement is wet. The art therefore contemplates the application of reflective traffic lines. To this end, a dispenser is provided in proximity with the spray gun on the cart for injecting reflective beads into the paint spray emitted from the gun. The beads become entrained in the spray, and are deposited therewith in a traffic line painted on the pavement. Because of the beads, the traffic lines are clearly visible even at night when the pavement is wet by virtue of the light being reflected from the headlights on vehicles. However, a drawback of conventional bead dispensing systems is that they usually require considerably additional structure for mounting the dispenser on the cart in proximity with the spray gun, which adds cost and complexity to the paint striper.